Player was first Canadian woman to reach the final four of a Grand Slam in 30 years

Editor's note: This story was originally published Jan. 25, 2014 in The Gazette and at montrealgazette.com

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - With her semifinal effort at the Australian Open, Canada's Eugenie Bouchard announced her intention to climb to the top of women's tennis.

But it's one thing to make the Top 50 - or even the Top 20 - on the WTA Tour. The 19-year-old from Westmount has made that look easy. The path to the very summit of the game takes a twistier, steeper turn.

Reaching the Top 10 requires a combination of talent, work ethic and consistency that is possessed by very few. To plant roots there, and go even higher, requires a lot more.

Here are five areas Bouchard has to address as she aims for the very top:

> 1. Improve technically

One morning, on an offday between matches at the Australian Open this week, Bouchard and coach Nick Saviano were addressing some basic technical issues. The two were working on footwork for the volley. And Bouchard was practising a kick serve, exaggerating the motion to try to incorporate it into her muscle memory.

It's astonishing to witness a Top-20 player work on the basics at this point after playing for 15 years.

But those two particular areas are going to be key for Bouchard to rise even higher. Second service, at this point, remains by far the most vulnerable part of her game.

> 2. Develop a Plan B

One truth clearly emerged from Bouchard's loss to Li Na in the Australian Open semifinal: When faced with an opponent who does the same things she does - but at a higher level - Bouchard doesn't yet have any response.

When asked about tactics and game plans, the typical female player these days usually says they want to "be aggressive." Most have only a vague idea of what that means. They seem to interpret it in the simplest way: Hit the ball as hard as you can until the opponent makes an error, or until you create a short ball and hit a winner.

In the junior ranks, that strategy works for the better girls; the one who keeps it in the court more often wins that day. But in the pros, it's all about winning matches regardless of whether or not you're having a good day. If it's not working, you have to figure something else out on the fly.

Bouchard doesn't yet have those options, or the on-court imagination to use them if she did.

She'll never have the huge serve and massive power off the ground of Serena Williams, the overall ability of Victoria Azarenka, the racquet wizardry of Agnieszka Radwanska, or the panther-like quickness and court speed of a player like Jelena Jankovic.

She'll have to figure out other options.

> 3. Stabilize the coaching situation

Bouchard has gone through an awful lot of coaches in the last few years, ever since she returned from Florida to be the poster girl for Tennis Canada's national training program. She has settled upon Nick Saviano as her main coach. And as a technical coach, he has few peers. He will be at major events with her. In between, they will rely on remote video analysis and telephone calls. It seems inevitable Bouchard will require someone on a fulltime, travelling basis. Unless Saviano does an about-face, apparently it won't be him. Another change could soon be on the horizon.

> 4. Perform day-in and day-out

A year ago, it was the American Sloane Stephens who made the big splash at the Australian Open by reaching the semifinals.

Since then, Stephens has proven a worthy performer at major events, but a less-than-sure bet at other tournaments. Contrast that with Romania's Simona Halep, 22, who crumbled in the quarter-finals here against Dominika Cibulkova, but who arrived on the cusp of the Top 10 by winning six tournaments in 2013. Yes, they were all lower-level events. But she piled up the trophies - and ranking points. Bouchard should aspire to be a combination of the two.

> 5. Ignore the distractions and balance the demands

Bouchard's success the last two weeks has raised her profile tremendously. With her combination of talent and good looks, the WTA Tour itself must be jumping for joy at the prospect of making her the face of the next generation of stars. You can see in how they market the tour the zealous effort to "glam" up their players, rather than trumpet their athleticism. Bouchard's ambition and drive are intimidating.

But she's only 19. It will be up to her, and those around her, to make sure she doesn't get sidetracked and keeps the focus where it needs to be: On getting better. On winning.

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